ICC World Cup 2019 | Colin de Grandhomme for me was the standout performer, states Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson picked Colin de Grandhomme as the star performer against South Africa after the all-rounder restrained them expertly with the ball before playing an explosive innings to guide his team to victory. Williamson also discussed the conditions surrounding the match and his own performance.
In a nail-biting clash between the Black Caps and the Proteas, it was the island nation who had the final laugh after a defining partnership between skipper Kane Williamson and de Grandhomme took them across the line. The match was a replay of the last edition’s semifinal, another match that went down the wire and was incidentally also won by New Zealand.
Having won the toss and deciding to bowl, New Zealand bowlers kept taking wickets at regular intervals which contained South Africa’s flow of run. The match had been reduced to 49 overs following an interruption by rain and hence none of the batsmen could go that extra mile as the Kiwis took good advantage of the damp surface. Colin de Grandhomme was their most economical bowler after he only gave away 33 runs in 10 overs while also picking up Aiden Markram’s wicket with a peach of a yorker, restricting them to a modest total of 241/6.
“It's nice to be there at the end. It was a pretty tough surface, a bit soft and that ball was holding on. I thought the first half was a really good effort from us, pitching the ball in the right areas. We knew at the halfway stage that we had done well with the ball,” Williamson said.
However, the South African bowlers were up to the task as well, as only two of the top five batsmen in the opposition’s batting order reached double figures. Wickets kept tumbling but the skipper held his ground and refused to give his wicket away even though none of his partnerships were lasting for long.
“We then had to build partnerships, but we kept losing wickets and coupled with the tight South African bowling made life difficult for us. de Grandhomme for me was the standout with his bowling and the impetus he gave us with the bat in the end. We just tried to get through the tough parts, we knew we would face dots,” Williamson added.
However, he completely failed to pick up the pace as is reflected in his final score of 106 runs off 138 balls. The required run rate would have gone out control had it not been for a blistering 60 off just 47 balls from de Grandhomme that set the stage for a thrilling climax. And in a very similar way to the 2015 match, New Zealand managed to bail themselves out of trouble thanks to a huge six off the last over, this time coming off the bat of Williamson.Â
“I just tried communicating with my partners, and despite trying to score quickly, I kept finding the fielders. Trying to do the job as well as you can, and a number of other contributions were vital. It was one of those surfaces that creates close contests and it was nice to get a win today,” the captain concluded.
The win took New Zealand to the top of the table as they remain unbeaten with nine points from five matches, consisting of four wins and a washed out match against India who are the only other team not to have lost a match so far in the tournament. New Zealand will face West Indies in their next match on Saturday.
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